This London-based Pharmacy Prescribes Poetry as Treatment

For those of us who love poetry, it really can lift your mood or shift your perspective in a way other written words can’t. Now there’s a place that is offering it literally as a prescription for that effect. The Poetry Pharmacy is a two-location concept in England that is currently looking for a part-time barista and part-time bookseller. That sounds like a dream job.

The vision behind the retail concept is ambitious and beautiful: “We believe that poetry can do so much to match or alter a mood, to assist in so many ways with good mental health. The Poetry Pharmacy was a way for us to bring the therapeutic effects of poetry under one roof, with an emphasis on well-being and inclusivity.”

When you visit, you can buy a bottle of tiny, rolled pieces of paper featuring poetry that look exactly like pills, as well as other books and products. It is, as you might suspect, the “World’s First Poetry Pharmacy” but at a time when people are seeking relief from emotional or mental distress in more non-medical ways the idea seems perfectly timed and a wonderful experience. It’s going on my list to visit next time I’m in London.

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